Good Monday to you all,
One of the questions that comes up is “What is homeland security?” According to the 2010 Quadrennial Homeland Security Report (QHSR) remarks that the term is a fairly new concept. It goes on to say:
“Yet it is one that can trace its roots to traditional functions such as civil defense, emergency response, law enforcement, customs, border control, and immigration. Homeland security captures the effort to adapt these traditional functions to confront new threats and evolving hazards.”
continues:
“In 2002, the Homeland Security Act sought to integrate the various elements of homeland security in the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Homeland Security Council. In effect, the 2002 Homeland Security Act added a third concept to the military and foreign affairs pillars of national security by associating domestic security concerns with national security.”
That sounds great, but how does that get done? How is it organized? Do counties wait around for FEMA to show up? (Check Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy to see how that went) The solution actually can be found within that same 2010 QHSR, and it is called the Homeland Security Enterprise (HSE). According to the QHSR:
“Securing the United States and its people represents an overarching national objective. Equally important, and aside from obviously identifying a Cabinet-level department of the Federal Government, homeland security is a widely distributed and diverse-but unmistakable-national enterprise.”
The Homeland Security Enterprise is defined in the 2010 QHSR as “the collective efforts and shared responsibilities of Federal, State, local, tribal, territorial, nongovernmental and private-sector partners- as well as individuals, families and communities- to maintain critical homeland security capabilities. It connotes a broad-based community with a common interest in the safety and well-being of America and American society.”
While this has never really gone anywhere from this review, it should be noted that the Federal Government (as I have been telling you) knows it cannot provide adequate per-disaster mitigation and recovery efforts for a country with a population over 300 million and 3,000,000 sq miles .
You have to take the initiative and get involved in your community. It doesn’t matter what your station is within you community, you can do your part to be prepared. If you own a business,what can you do to help with recovery efforts? Depending on the size of the place you live, talk to your emergency management office. Find out what you states incident management system. Become a member of your local Community Emergency Response Team, or check with the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD) for opportunities in your area. Do your part, because when the time comes, you can either look to those who are ready or be one that is ready, the choice is yours.
Good Luck and Good Hunting